Mechanical binding



April 4, 19505v c. D. TRussELL 2,502,493

MECHANICAL B INDING Filed July 5, 1945 INVENTOR (Min/afi. Z/'m's'sz-z Patented Apr. 4, 1950 airs-o starts @1F FCE 6 Claims (Cl. 129-1) leaves, as in a permanent binder, may, if so -required, be readily released and opened to permit removal or insertion Voi loose leaves.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a binding which while light in Weight will be sufliciently ri-gid and strong for use in sectional books and which will have incorporated with it practical and eilicient structure for enabling the removable mounting of the binder sections in the back. portion of the book.

Other desirable objects and the novel features by which the purposes of theinvention are atn tained will appear or are particularly set forth in the following specification.

The drawings accompanying and forming part oi the specification illustrate certain present practical embodiments of the invention but structure may be modiiied and changed as regards the immediate disclosure, all within the true intent Vand broad scope of the invention as hereinafter dened and claimed.

Fig. l in the drawings isa broken plan View illustrating a method of striking out duplicate binder blanks from a continuous strip or sheet ci material;

Figs. 2 and 3 are broken plan views illustrating diiierent forms of locking means for the ends of the ring-forming strips;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional View of a completed binding;

Fig. 5 is a broken sectional view as on substantially the plane of line 5 5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an end view showing a filler engaged on the ringsv oi a binder element;

Fig. '7 is a cross sectional view illustrating a method of closing the rings by lforcing the assembled unit down into a ring closing fixture;

Fig. 8 is a broken longitudinal sectional view of the binder and iixture as on substantially the plane oi line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

As shown in Fig. '1, the bindings are made up from blanks struck out of sheet material with ring-forming strips or `fingers l5 extending in tinuous back or rib-forming portion l'. "This view shows also how these blanksin opposed rvalspaced parallel relation from one edge of a conternated relation, can be struck Without waste, from a single, continuous strip or sheet of material oi a width substantially equal tothe .length of the ring-forming fmgers'plus the width of the two bacleiorming strips i6.

The edges of the blanks opposite those from which the ring-forming strips pro-ject are shown as plain and straight, and slots il are shown punched in the banks adjacent and substantially parallel with these edges, substantially equal in length to the width of such strips and slightly offset or out of line with the strips, substantially as indicated at E8.

This offset causes the endol the 'strip' when entered in slot il to bind and more or less secure the strip in the ring-forming position.

Figs. 2 and 3 show how an interlock may be provided to positively secure the strip 'in ring-- forming position by notching theedge of the strip at one side at i9 to form -a hook which, with the oiiset described, will positively interlock over the end of the slot in which the hooked end of the strip is entered.

in Fig. 2 the end of the ring-forming strip is split at 2li to separate it into relatively yieldable spring sections which will snap into position in `the slot and conversely, can be pinched together to unhook the end of the strip from its locked position in the slot. This unlatching operation will be clear from Fig. 5.

The slotted edge portion of the blank is rolled back on itself to :form a tubular rib or backbone structure 2l and to bring the slots il into position for entry of the ends ofthe ring strips.

This tubular rib may be circular in cross section, as shown in Fig. 4, or it may be-o'f oval or other cross sectional shape, depending to some extent on the particular use to which the binding is to be put. For sectional binders such vas herein disclosed, a circular rib of small -diameter is usually preferred. For catalogues and single section binders, a wide, ilat, tubular form o'frib may he preferred, providing as they do a wide, exposed expanse which may be printed 'on or have printing matter applied thereto for designating catalogue contents or the like.

While various sheet materials may be eme ployed, thin plastic or sheet metal may be pre'- ferred.

The examples illustrated may vbeconsidered as made of thin sheet steel.

Fig. 6 shows how in 'forming the binder the ring constituting elements 'l5 may A'be given a shape 22 at their opposite end portions approximating the curvature of the completed ring, and the intermediate portions a flatter curvature 23, to cause them to stand in the open relation illustrated, ready to receive the filler 24 and so that when closed they will be spring tensioned in the opening direction.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate a form of closing mechanism comprising a trough shaped guide having downwardly convergent inclined sides 25, with a centering bar 26 at the bottom channelled in the top at 27 to admit and seat the rib 2l and notched downwardly in opposite sides at 28 to admit the rings. The lower ends of these notches are inclined or curved inwardly at 29 to match or approximate the downwardly inclined and inwardly curved sides of the trough, and the bottom of the channel 2l' may be curved, as shown, to closely approximate the curvature oi the rib 2l.

This structure provides, in effect, a ring closing die which can be used, after the filler has been engaged on the rings, by simply grasping the ller and forcing the binder down into the trough, the rings slipping into the notches and the rib centering and holding in the center channel while the free ends of the rings slide downwardly into and through the slots in the side of the tubular rib. The upper ends of the ring spacing projections 39 left by notching the sides of the centering channel, may be bevelled or tapered as indicated at 3l, Fig. 8, to guide the rings down into the notches and these notches may be widened at the outer edges to guide and accurately align the free ends of the rings with the slots in the rib. Also, these ring guiding walls of the notches are designed to take care of the offset (I8) as between the slots and the free ends of the rings so that these ends will properly enter and engage within the slots.

What is claimed is:

1. A mechanical binding comprising a body strip of sheet material rolled along one edge into tubular rib formation and having spaced integral ring forming ngers projecting from the opposite edge of the same, said tubular rib portion having slots therein interlockingly receiving the free ends of said ring forming ingers, said slots being substantially equal in length to the width of said ring forming fingers and offset longitudinally of the rib portion in respect to said ring forming iingers to cause binding engagement of the free ends ci said ngers in said slots.

2. A mechanical binding comprising a body strip of sheet material rolled along one edge into tubular rib formation and having spaced integral ring forming fingers projecting from the opposite edge of the same, said tubular rib portion having slots therein interlockingly receiving the free ends of said ring forming iingers, said slots being substantially equal in length to the width of said ring forming fingers and oiset longitudinally of the rib portion in respect to said ring forming fingers to cause binding engagement of the free ends of said lingers in said slots and said free ends of the ring forming iingers being split longitudinally into relatively yieldable spring sections which can be pinched toward each other, and one of said yielding sections having a hook in interlocking engagement with the interior surface of the tubular rib.

3. A mechanical binding comprising a strip of sheet material having one edge rolled on itself and the rolled portion formed with longitudinally spaced slots parallel with said edge and having spaced ring forming strips projecting from the opposite edge with the free ends of the same slightly offset longitudinally of the strip and en gaged in said slots and said slots being substantially equal in length to the width of said ring forming strips.

4. A mechanical binding comprising a strip of sheet material having one edge portion rolled into the form of a tubular rib and provided with I longitudinally spaced slots and having narrow ring forming strips projecting in spaced relation from the opposite edge, the free end portions and the portions of said narrow strips adjoining the rib being permanently curved to the approximate curvature of the nally formed rings, and the intermediate portions oi said ring forming strips between said preformed end portions being permanently curved on a atter arc, tensioning said ring forming strips in an opening direction.

5. A mechanical binding comprising a strip of sheet material having opposite longitudinal edges rolled together into generally cylindrical, tubular formation and having one edge continuous and unbroken to provide longitudinal stability and the other edge equipped with relatively spaced, substantially parallel ring forming projections, said tubularly formed strip having slots therein adjoining and substantially parallel with said continuous edge and sized and disposed to receive the free ends of the ring forming projections and the latter having hooked end portions entered in said tubular formation and biased to yieldingly interlock over the edge portions of said slots.

6. A mechanical binding comprising a strip of sheet material having opposite longitudinal edges rolled together into generally cylindrical, tubular formation and havingr one edge continuous and unbroken to provide longitudinal stability and the other edge equipped with relatively spaced, substantially parallel ring forming projections, said tubularly formed strip having slots therein adjoining and substantially parallel with said continuous edge and sized and disposed to receive the free ends oi the ring forming projections and the latter having hooked end portions entered in said tubular formation and biased to yieldingly interlock over the edge portions of said slots and said hooked end portions of the ring forming projections being split longitudinally inwardly of the hook structure for enabling said end portions to be pinched together to release the hooked portions from the edges of the slots in the tubular back of the binding.

CLARENCE D. TRSSELL.

REFERENCES CKTEB The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNTTED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,361,645 Tonchin Dec. 7, 1920 1,737,109 Davidson Nov. 25, 1929 2,058,272 Taylor Oct. 20, 1936 2,177,270 Trussell Oct. 24, 1939 2,210,106 Tauber Aug. 6, 1940 2,269,495 Trussell Jan. 13, 194.2 2,291,512 Trussell July 28, 194.2 2,334,433 Nelson Nov. 16, i943 2,358,062 Farkas Sept. 20, 1944 

